Answering a Xinhua question in Damascus, Mekdad said that the Russian S-300 missile system, which will be sent to Syria soon, would be used only if Syria was attacked.

His remarks come against the backdrop of the recent remarks by Russian officials that Moscow was going to deliver the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile system to Syria.

The Russian move comes days after Israeli F-16 jets attacked Syrian military positions in Syria's Latakia province and was accused by Russia of being behind the targeting of a Russian aircraft during the attack.

"Israel which got used to carrying out many attacks under different pretexts would have to recalculate and reconsider before attacking again," Mekdad said.

He stressed that "the aggression on Syria is an aggression on the forces that fight against terrorism in Syria."

Asked by Xinhua if Israel would launch other attacks on Syria after obtaining the S-300 system, Mekdad said: "Let the Israelis try and we will defend ourselves as we have done before."

Last week, the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft was mistakenly shot down by the Syrian air defenses, which were intercepting Israeli missile attack on Syrian basis in Latakia province in northwestern Syria.

All 15 Russian crew members aboard died.

The Russians have accused Israel of failing to give Russia adequate notice of the airstrike.

On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry charged that the Israeli F-16 jets had used its reconnaissance plane as cover while carrying out strikes in Syria.

"The actions of the Israeli fighter pilots, which resulted in the loss of life of 15 Russian servicemen, either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence, to say the least," the Russian ministry said.

Russia, which entered the course of the war to back the Syrian army in 2015, has two Russian-run bases in Syria, the first is an air base in Hmeimim in Latakia countryside and the other is a naval base in the Tartus city near Latakia.